Introducing Jonathan Nadeau, FSF campaigns intern

My name is Jonathan Nadeau and I'm a husband, a father of three, and a blind GNU/Linux user. I'm also the host of three podcasts about free software. I interview project leaders of free software and GNU/Linux distributions. This summer I'm interning with the FSF's campaigns team.

I was not born blind but was in a car accident when I was 14, which
caused me to lose my sight — after my accident I was introduced to a
world of accessible technology using proprietary and nonfree
software. I came to free software from using Windows and used a
program called Jaws — this software allows people who are blind or
have low vision to access a computer and be productive, by reading
text and actions on the screen.

Jaws is nonfree software — users can't share it due to the terms of
the license and as a result many people who would benefit from it, are
unable to get a copy. In the United States, around 80% of vision
impaired people are unemployed, and often people who need this
software can request a copy from their local government, but this
usually comes with many frustrating requirements, such as being a
current student or requiring the software for a job. And of course,
giving up important freedoms as a computer user.

Around 1999, I had a recording studio in my house and my business
partner was telling me about GNU/Linux and the philosophy behind it. I
also heard that some distributions came with a screen reader called
speakup out of the box, and so if I could get the system
installed, I'd have a screen reader right out of the box with no
third-party software. I tried to install it, but failed miserably.

I tried several times to use free software over the years, with
limited success until 2007, when I heard that distributions were now
using a new screen reader, called Orca — I picked one of the popular
distributions of the day, downloaded and installed it on my computer
— I was surprised to find that everything just worked. Granted, at
this time, the Orca screen reader was not as good as the proprietary
software I was used to, but I didn't care — I was willing to put up
with the lack of performance for the freedom it gave me.

Once I started using a free screen reader with a free operating
system, I had freedom in my own computing, and realized the importance
of free software for accessibility — it is important for people who
depend on accessible software to understand the freedoms that come
with using free software, and no longer be stuck in a world of relying
on nonfree accessibility software.

So I'm now an advocate of promoting the use of free software in
accessibility and want to help educate other people who depend on
assistive technology and explain to them the freedoms they deserve.

One of my goals at the Free Software Foundation this summer is to
start work on a completely free and fully accessible distribution of
GNU/Linux based on Trisquel, which I'm using for my work at the
Foundation.

A completely blind person will be able to install this software
without assistance, and once they they put the CD into their computer
it will boot into a live session, the Orca screen reader will start
talking right away, and then they can start the install process. Once
installed, the screen reader will be already running when you first
log in. The majority of programs installed by default will have good
accessibility and there will also be screen magnification features by
default for low vision users.

This would be just the start of this accessible distribution. I want
people to understand the power and flexibility of free software and
not depend on proprietary companies to provide accessible software.
This will result in giving the power and freedom to the people who
depend on accessibility to ask for feature requests and make bug
reports. By working together as a community, we can make a big
difference in the lives of people who rely on assistive technologies.